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Heartburn is a burning feeling in the middle of your chest, caused by stomach acid coming back up your food pipe. It is common, and there is often no obvious reason for it. Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, the name for reflux that keeps happening, affects an estimated 14.53% of adults in the UK. Heartburn most days is worth getting looked at.
Acid reflux is stomach acid travelling back up into your oesophagus (food pipe). Heartburn is the burning sensation that reflux causes. The two main symptoms are heartburn, felt in the middle of the chest, and an unpleasant sour taste in your mouth from the acid [1].
You may also have a cough or hiccups that keep coming back, a hoarse voice, bad breath, or bloating and feeling sick. Symptoms are often worse after eating, when lying down and when bending over [1].
If your discomfort is less of a burning and more of a fullness, bloating or feeling sick after meals, that is usually described as indigestion, and our Indigestion page covers it.
Heartburn is not usually an emergency. It is worth knowing, though, that the NHS lists "feeling like you have indigestion - you may have a burning feeling in your chest and feel full or bloated" among the symptoms of a heart attack [3]. That is why this page starts with the emergency tier.
Call 999 if [3]:
Call 999 or go to A&E if you are vomiting blood, or have vomited blood, and you [4]:
If you have stopped vomiting blood and had no other symptoms, the NHS advises asking for an urgent GP appointment, calling 111, or getting help from 111 online [4].
LivingCare is a specialist outpatient service and is not an emergency care facility. If your symptoms are sudden or severe, call 999.
See a GP, and consider booking an assessment, if [1]:
The NHS puts these in its non-urgent tier: they are not emergencies, but they are the point at which heartburn is worth looking into properly, because a clinician can offer alternative or stronger treatments and help rule out more serious causes [1]. If your symptoms get worse at any time, contact a GP or get help from NHS 111 [1]. Food getting stuck when you swallow is covered in more detail on our Difficulty Swallowing page. To be seen privately, book a Gastroenterology Consultation.
Often, nothing is identifiable. Lots of people get heartburn from time to time, and there is often no obvious reason why [1].
Where there is a trigger, the NHS lists certain food and drink such as coffee, tomatoes, alcohol, chocolate and fatty or spicy foods; being overweight; smoking; pregnancy; stress and anxiety; an increase in some types of hormones, such as progesterone and oestrogen; and some medicines, such as anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen [1].
Reflux can also be caused or worsened by something structural or treatable, including a hiatus hernia (when part of your stomach moves up into your chest), a stomach ulcer, or a bacterial infection called Helicobacter pylori in your stomach [1]. Where reflux keeps happening it may be called gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, or GORD [1]. Naming which of these applies to you is what an assessment is for; the pattern of your symptoms and what brings them on is what separates them.
A visit to your GP or gastroenterology consultation is the starting point - the specialist reviews your symptoms and arranges only the tests they call for.
Where medicines have not helped or symptoms are more troublesome, the NHS says a specialist may arrange tests to find out what is causing them, such as a Gastroscopy - a camera test that looks at the food pipe and stomach - or tests to check for the bacteria that can cause heartburn [1]. Not everyone needs a camera test, and that decision is the GP's and specialist's to make with you, as per guidelines.
Self-pay, with no GP referral needed. If you are using medical insurance, your insurer may ask for a GP referral letter. You can book a Gastroenterology Consultation directly, or read more about our Gastroenterology service.
Medically reviewed by: Dr N. Chandra, Consultant Endoscopist. Last reviewed: 09/10/26
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